At various times over the years, Lafayette Parish has been dominant in different sports, mostly in such spring sports as softball and baseball.

These days, it’s turning into a mecca for high school volleyball.

When the LHSAA released the state volleyball pairings Monday, three of the five divisions were topped by No. 1 seeds from Lafayette Parish.

In Division II, there’s the four-time defending state champion St. Thomas More Lady Cougars back in their familiar spot atop that playoff bracket.

In Division III, the three-time state champion Teurlings Catholic Lady Rebels begin the postseason as the top seed there.

In Division V, the two-time state finalists Ascension Episcopal Lady Blue Gators ascended to the No. 1 seed after falling in the championship game as a No. 3 seed last year and No. 2 seed in 2014.

In a dramatic showdown in the ESA Spooktacular finals on Saturday, Teurlings knocked off St. Thomas More 14-25, 25-22, 15-11.

“I think it’s awesome,” Teurlings coach Terry Hebert said. “I’ve said many times, all of these girls play together in the summer and we all reap the benefits of it.”

In addition to those high seeds, the Acadiana area had other single-digit seeds in St. Martinvile No. 8 and Northside at No. 9 in Division III, Notre Dame No. 7 in Division IV and Lafayette Christian No. 6 and ESA No. 9 in Division V.

Division I

Two teams from Lafayette Parish area representing the area in the Division I bracket, and both will be hosting opening-round games.

The Comeaux Lady Spartans are the No. 10 seed and will host No. 23 Chalmette. The winner would travel to face No. 7 Northshore on Saturday.

The Acadiana Lady Rams are the No. 16 seed and will entertain No. 17 Airline at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Scott Middle’s gym.

The Lady Rams are 16-12 on the season and didn’t play any home matches in their own gym because of damage to the floor during the August flood.

“I don’t think the gym had anything to do with us not being seeded higher than we are,” AHS coach Celie LeBlanc said. “We’re happy to be in the playoffs and we’re hoping to be hosting a first-round game, but if we wouldn’t have come up short in several matches, we would be in a better position and wouldn’t have to meet the No. 1 seed in the next round.”

That’s top-seeded Mount Carmel of New Orleans, which would host the winner of the Airline-Acadiana match.

LeBlanc said Airline is an unknown opponent.

“The only common opponent is Fontainebleau and we both lost to them,” LeBlanc said.

“We need to be more consistent and stick with our gameplan. When we have mistakes, we can’t allow them to change the momentum.”

Division II

The powerhouse Lady Cougars aren’t going to win 40-plus matches like they did a year ago. But here they are, ranked No. 1 and still the team to beat in the Division II bracket.

And perhaps the worst thing that could happen for those in Division II hoping to dethrone them is that St. Thomas More (33-8) will be entering the postseason coming off a loss – in the ESA Spooktacular finals against Teurlings Catholic.

“We definitely have to make quicker adjustments on defense.”
STM will certainly carry a measure of momentum going into the playoffs, despite that loss in the finals. To get to that point, Burke’s Lady Cougars defeated St. Joseph’s of Baton Rouge, a team that beaten STM twice earlier this season. That was achieved without injured libero Elizabeth Whitehurst, who is expected back for the playoffs.

“That was a really big win for us against St. Joe’s,” Burke said. “I’m definitely proud of this team and the progress its made.”

STM hasn’t faced any of the higher seeds on the top half of the bracket, but has defeated No. 2 Assumption and No. 3 St. Scholastica from the bottom bracket earlier this season.

Division III

If his Teurlings Catholic Lady Rebels were lacking any confidence or had any doubts, this weekend’s tournament win at ESA should have taken care of that.

“That was the first time in recent memory that we’ve won a tournament like that,” Hebert said. “It gave us a lot of confidence at a much-needed time.”

The issue for the Lady Rebels (37-4) this season has been injuries.

“They’re not all 100 percent, but they’re all back at the right time,” Hebert said. “We spent the whole season questioning if that was really going to happen. We still have some work left to do, but it was definitely a confidence booster for us.”

The return of all-around performer Lexi Hebert from ankle surgery earlier this season and Chloe Hamilton to her libero spot on a full-time basis has the Lady Rebels fueled to make a big run at a fourth straight state championship.
During the season, Teurlings has defeated No. 2 Ursuline, No. 4 St. Michael and No. 5 Parkview Baptist.

“The only one (of high seeds) we haven’t faced is (No. 2) Vandebilt,” Hebert said. “I haven’t seen them. I told the girls that we’ve beaten all the teams we needed to beat, and a couple more. Be able to beat St. Amant, Assumption and St. Thomas More was really nice.”

Division IV

Just a two weeks ago, Notre Dame coach Tara Young was hoping that her Lady Pios would be headed for a No. 5 seed in the Division IV state playoff bracket.

As it turned out, it’s No. 7, which still earns the Lady Pios a bye, but also put them in the same quarterfinal bracket as No. 2 Hannan. In Division IV, these days, it’s a two-horse race on paper between No. 1 Pope John Paul II and Hannan.

“Oh well,” Young said. “There’s nothing we can do about it. The way I look at it, you’ve got to beat the best to be the best.”
Young said she’s seen stretches when the Lady Pios perform at a high level, like leading late against Teurlings Catholic, only to lose.

“We’ve played well at times against some very good teams,” she said. “We just haven’t closed it out.”

Notre Dame will host the Northlake Christian-Loyola Prep winner on Thursday in the regional round.

Division V

In the last two seasons, Ascension Episcopal has reached the finals both years. Once as a No. 2 and then last year as a No. 3 seed.

After knocking off longtime Division V powerhouse Country Day in a memorable five-set marathon in the semifinals last year, coach Jill Braun’s Lady Gators didn’t have much left in the finals against McGehee.

Well, when the final brackets came out this season, Braun was especially pleased that Ascension Episcopal ended up with the No. 1 seed over No. 2 Country Day, especially since McGehee is No. 3.

At least that’s what Braun is hoping for.

“We were physically and mentally exhausted after that semifinals match last year,” she said. “I’m hoping it works out where we can get a little easier matchup in the semifinals than we got last year.”